The A Team
by ezrialover92
Summary: Can Ezra save Aria when her life is out of control? *based on The A Team by Ed Sheeran
1. Chapter 1

Class A

Chapter One: Too Cold Outside

 **New York City, January 2013-**

Large, fluffy snowflakes slowly drifted through the dark, night sky to the sidewalk below. Bright lights twinkled, lighting up the city that never sleeps. Even in the dead of the night, throngs of people travelled the grey, grimy sidewalks that were slowly losing ground to the snow raining down on them. A strong gust of wind whipped the long coats of the people on the sidewalk, causing them to pull their warm coats closer to their bodies and hurry their steps in search of a warm building somewhere.

In the mist of all the hustle and bustle under the city skyline, no one noticed the thin, pale face of a young girl huddled against a brick wall in a dark, dirty alley. The small woman-child sat with her arms wrapped around her knees, her knotted, chocolate brown hair nearly covering her face. Large, hungry hazel eyes stared longingly out into the street. The girl pushed the nest of hair out of her face as she noticed a pair of shiny, black Oxfords come to a halt in front of her. She slowly lifted her head and looked up into the face of yet another successful businessman who, like the others, probably couldn't find happiness at home. Either that or his wife wasn't willing to do what _he_ wanted. Those were the only reasons men like that ever came to this part of the city.

"Two-hundred okay?" The man tossed the offer out as if this were an everyday occurrence for him, flashing the cash in front of her eager eyes.

The girl shook her head ever so slightly. Two-hundred would get her through another day. She hadn't had much work in the past week and the withdrawal was slowly killing her, torturing her. Her insomnia had gotten the best of her since the last time she had managed to feed her addiction, nearly four days ago.

"Meet me in the restroom of the restaurant across the street," The man ordered, turning on his heel and walking away. Near the opening to the alley, he turned to call softly, "I'll give you five minutes."

The girl watched with emotionless eyes as the man left the alley, heading in direction of the restaurant he had mentioned. She knew his suggestion of a quick rendezvous in some restaurant was degrading, but the allure of her addiction was calling to her. She slowly stood, the large, baggy shirt engulfing her tiny body. She rubbed her rosy fingers together, attempting to get some blood circulating in the icy body parts. She stretched, her lithe body bending backward as her bones popped some, before she started walking toward the opening of the alley.

The bright light, coming from every building within the square, caused the petite girl to squint as she was faced with it for the first time that day. She attempted to pull her large shirt closer to her body as a gale of wind barreled down the sidewalk. She lowered her head, unable to look straight with the snow blowing the way it was; blinding her.

She began slowly making her way through the crowded sidewalk, ignoring the disgusted looks of the women dressed in their finest business suits. The men were slightly more sympathetic, some even holding out change as she passed them. To each passerby who did this, she shook her head – she knew how to make her own way on the streets. She sighed as she finally neared the edge of the sidewalk, lifting her head for the briefest moment to see if the flashing sign said she could cross the street or not.

She briskly walked across the slick street, lost in the crowd, as the small man began flashing on the sign. She practically jogged the last few steps to the small restaurant, placing her hand on the brass door handle and quickly yanking the heavy green door open, rushing inside. The warm air coming from inside the restaurant hit her all at once, making a satisfied smile escape from her.

One of the waitresses gave her a distasteful look, taking in the dirty clothes and hair, as she briskly walked to the back in direction of the restrooms. Coming to a halt in front of the two doors in the back, she took her time staring at each before finally deciding on the one marked by a tiny male figure. She shoved the door open and stepped inside the large, single bathroom – locking the door behind her.

"A minute early, not bad," A voice said from behind her. A look of guilt flashed across the girl's face before she slowly turned around to face the man.

"What do you want?" The girl casually asked, her voice a little hoarse from lack of use but holding the underlying of a melodious, sweet tone.

" _Everything_ ," The man intoned, his voice holding promise as he continued with, "What's your name, girl?"

"Names aren't necessary," The girl responded with a flat voice, placing her hands on the edge of her large shirt and tugging it over her head. She shivered as she stood before the man, completely bare from the waist up. Her large, creamy breasts uncovered for him to feast his eyes on.

"I need a name to call when I'm thrusting into that tight pussy of yours," The man's harsh voice demanded a name once more as a bulge began forming in his pants. His businesslike persona was fading with the ever approaching reality of satisfaction at the hands of this dirty, yet stunning girl.

"It's Aria," She informed him, the musical name dancing off her lips as her hands moved to the buttons of her well-worn jeans.

"Aria," The man repeated, almost as if he were trying it out, "You can call me David."

"I told you: I do _not_ need names," Aria bit out, pushing her now unbuttoned jeans down her thin legs and kicking them aside. Her panties soon followed and she was standing completely naked in front of David.

"Too bad for you that _I_ happen to love names," David returned, hinting at the fact that she wouldn't be paid in full if _she_ didn't use names.

"Whatever," She mumbled under her breath as she moved toward David, placing her hands on his shoulders to propel herself a few inches on her tip-toes before roughly forcing her mouth on his. A few seconds later, she had thrust her tongue into his mouth and was battling him for dominance. Their tongues dueled for what seemed like forever before Aria pulled away, gasping for air as she moved her hands to the buttons of David's light grey dress shirt. She deftly undid the pearl white buttons before sliding the dress shirt from his body.

"That's a surprise," She stated upon seeing his toned, muscled chest. She hadn't been expecting that from a man like him. Instead, she had been expecting a pot belly much like those of her other patrons. Of course David, unlike the others, appeared to be much younger. He still had a head full of jet black hair and his dark blue eyes were unmarred by the appearance of crows' feet.

"More than you expected?" David asked with a hint of a smirk in his voice. No doubt he was one of those cocky assholes she despised…or used to despise back when she was still herself; back before she had met her so called friends, stayed up late partying, and dropped out of school to pursue her addiction.

She began to think of something to say, but found she couldn't. Every retort that fell on her tongue was something the _old_ Aria would say. She couldn't risk that. The old Aria didn't have to worry about making money to survive from day to day – she was a straight A student on a bright path. The _new_ Aria was a hungry, thin girl with an addiction to feed. She _**had**_ to play nice.

Deciding against opening her mouth and possibly losing a customer, she moved forward and knelt on her knees; the hard surface cold and unforgiving. She placed her hands on David's steel belt buckle, quickly undoing the piece of metal before unzipping his pants and pulling them down his body, along with his boxers. She waited patiently as he stepped out of his shoes and pants before reaching forward to grasp his hard cock in her hand. She slowly began moving her hand along his rock hard length, watching as his eyes fluttered shut and his breathing began to quicken.

"You like that?" She breathed, experience telling her exactly what to say and when to say it during situations like these.

"Fuck," He breathed as she moved forward, taking the tip of his penis into her warm mouth, twirling her tongue around his head. She moaned, despite not knowing this man and doing this on a regular basis, she felt herself getting wet for the first time in what seemed like months. Maybe it was the unusual hotness of this particular patron or the deep, lustful moans he was making, but she was soaking. She could feel her arousal dripping down her soft thighs.

Her breathing depended as she relaxed her throat muscles, taking him deeper in her mouth. His hands moved from his sides to her hair, tangling themselves in the already tangled mass of chocolate brown. He could feel his balls tightening as she took him deeper, nearly hitting the back of her throat and swallowing.

"Damn," He gasped as he shot a steady stream of cum down her throat. He watched as she wiped her mouth before standing. He waited until she was once again on steady feet before backing her up toward the sink. She yelped slightly when her butt collided with the marble corner of the countertop.

"Silence is a virtue," David reminded her, placing his hands on her bony hips in a vice-like grip before lifting her slender body and seating her on the cool countertop. A light blush covered Aria's cheeks at the thought that she had been anything but robotic with a man for the first time since…she didn't even dare to _**think**_ his name.

"Just shut up and fuck me already," She demanded, for the first time in months feeling like the old Aria, but she couldn't let _**that**_ feeling last. That wasn't her anymore.

"With pleasure," David smirked, moving forward and slamming into her with force, causing a loud gasp to escape from Aria's plump lips.

It wasn't long before both were gasping loudly, a light sweat covering their foreheads as David continued pumping faster, harder. Aria could feel the tightening in her stomach as she began clenching her walls around David's throbbing member. She threw her head back, her eyes squeezing shut, as she exploded around him.

David buried his face in Aria's neck as he came once more, stilling his movements and clinging to her. The two stayed that way for several moments, catching their breath. Finally, David pulled away and began collecting his clothes. As he was in the process of pulling his pants up, Aria slid off the countertop to find her jeans. She was hopping into the well-worn fabric, fastening the button, when she noticed David slipping a golden ring onto his finger.

"Men," She spat, shaking her head as she slipped her large shirt over her head.

"Here," David said, slipping a wad of cash into the back pocket of Aria's jeans, grabbing her ass in the process, "Maybe I'll see you again."

With that last statement, he walked out of the restroom leaving Aria alone. She reached into her back pocket, pulling out the wad of cash and flipping the green paper. She smiled to herself when she noticed that he had slipped an extra twenty into the original amount before she slid the money back into her pocket and headed out of the room.

The waitress gave her a disgusted look as she walked past her in direction of the large, red door. She didn't think twice about the waitress' obvious disgust with her – she was beyond any form of emotional feeling at this point. She pushed the door open and stepped back out into the freezing snow. She slid her hands into her pockets and took off to the right.

She walked for a half hour, pushing through the throngs of people that slowly dwindled down to a handful of people as she neared her destination. The clean, well-kept buildings that lined the sidewalks had long ago given way to desolate, crumbling brick buildings. Children ran through the deserted streets, shouting at one another even at this late hour. Trash littered the sidewalks – glass beer bottles causing walking to be a treacherous task.

Aria turned down a dark alley that led to a wide open parking lot. A few fires burned in the far corners of the lot and one lone street light cast an eerie puddle in the middle of the cracked asphalt. She shoved her hands inside her sleeves and began walking toward the building at the far edge. A few people shouted their greetings, recognizing her regular face, as she placed a foot on the black iron of the staircase. She slowly climbed the stairs, ignoring those around her, until she reached the top floor.

On the top floor, she took a left and walked until she had reached the last door. She knocked loudly and waited. She didn't wait long before an ebony skinned man with long dreadlocks opened the door.

"Aria," The man exclaimed, his strong Jamaican accent making it difficult for the untrained ear to understand, "It's about time you show up!"

"Hey Demetrius," Aria smiled, allowing the large man to throw his arms around her, pulling her inside and into a bear-hug.

"You want the usual, dear?" Aaron, Demetrius' partner ever since Aria had known him, shouted from the kitchen where he was downing a shot of vodka.

" **Is** there anything else?" Aria retorted, pulling the wad of cash from her pocket and throwing it at Demetrius.

"Damn girl! Someone's been working hard," Demetrius whistled, taking the cash and disappearing off into a side room.

"What have you been up to? It's been days," Aaron commented, coming from around the small counter in the kitchen and handing Aria a bottle of beer. She took a swig of the foul tasting liquid as she moved to the old, torn blue sofa and collapsed on the piece of furniture; the first time she had sat on something remotely comfortable for days.

"Oh you know - same old same old. Trying to find work," She shrugged, snuggling into Aaron's open arms when he sat beside her on the couch.

"A girl like you shouldn't have trouble trying to find work," Aaron said, beginning to lightly stroke her arm.

"It's Christmas, Aar, my regulars are too busy trying to make sure everything looks _perfect_ for their nice little dysfunctional families." She let the bitterness creep into her voice as she took a large swig of the beverage in her hand. She didn't normally admit that the men who came to her, cheating on their wives, bothered her. She felt like she couldn't say too much – after all, she was selling her body to buy drugs.

"Here you go babe," Demetrius said, coming into the room with a bag full of a white, powdery substance.

"Thanks dear," Aria grinned, standing from the couch, grasping the baggie from Demetrius, and kissing him on the cheek.

"Don't stay away too long again," Aaron said as Aria stared at the bag in her hands.

"What makes you think I'm leaving already? How about a little party?" She raised her eyebrows in a suggestive manner as she shook the bag in front of the men.

"Hell yes," Demetrius grinned, kissing Aria full on the lips before taking the baggie from her hands.

"You two go get some drinks while I set us up here," Aaron ordered, grapping the bag from Demetrius' hands and shooing the two away. Aria followed Demetrius into the tiny kitchen. She found a tray under the sink and placed it on the counter before helping Demetrius place several small shot glasses on the tray and fill them with vodka.

"You two almost done in there?" Aaron called as Aria was picking the tray up.

"Get your panties out of a bunch," Demetrius shouted back, following Aria from the kitchen with the bottle of vodka present in his hand.

"I do the hard work and it takes me less time," Aaron scoffed as Aria sat the tray down on the wooden coffee table in the room, on the opposite side of the lines of heroin Aaron had set up for them.

"The hard work? I just had to help your dumbass boyfriend fill twelve shot glasses," Aria shook her head.

"Poor you," Aaron laughed, brushing his hand against Demetrius' cheek and whispering, "She didn't mean it honey."

"Whatever," Aria rolled her eyes as she moved toward the line in front of her. A satisfied smile left her lips at the first burning sensation of the drugs as it entered her nostrils. She felt a little better each time she moved down the line.

"Aria!" She barely registered Demetrius' yelling coming from behind her as she continued moving from one line to the next.

"Aria, you need to s **top** ," Aaron ordered, laying his hands on her arms and attempting to pull her away. She tried fighting at first; she had gone too long without her daily fix and was trying to make up for lost time.

"What the hell are you thinking? Are you _**trying**_ to overdose?" Demetrius demanded, roughly grasping her shoulders and shaking her. She could already feel her consciousness slipping out of her grasp. She wouldn't be conscious much longer.

"I think she might have," Aaron practically whispered, staring at the table in front of him in shock.

"What the hell?" Demetrius questioned, his voice rising with each word.

"She's **never** had this much before. **I've** never had this much before. She should probably go to the hospital," Aaron stated, choosing at that moment to be the voice of reason.

"We can't take her to the hospital. They'll question who we are, where she got the drugs from. We can't risk that," Demetrius nearly shouted, frustration slipping into his features.

"We'll tell them we found her on the street," Aaron resolved, moving toward the door.

"Look at us, Aaron! There is no fucking way they would believe that shitty ass story of yours," Panic now filled Demetrius' voice as Aria slouched against him.

"Fine. We'll just take her outside and I'm sure we'll run into some goody two shoes who will be more than willing to rush her to the nearest hospital. She's our friend, Demetrius. That's the least we can do for her," Aaron sighed, placing his hand on the doorknob.

"Let's get this over with," Demetrius intoned, picking Aria's thin body up and carrying her out the door. The trio carefully made their way down the iron stairs, slick from the snow and ice. No one spared them a second glance as they walked across the parking lot toward the sidewalk – this was too normal an occurrence for them.

They walked several blocks before they finally came across a man that Aaron thought would fit their cause. The man was tall with dark hair. He was wearing black dress pants and a knee length grey, wool coat. He looked kind, but the best part about him was that he was locking the door to a Catholic school. Aaron decided to take a chance.

"Excuse me, sir," Aaron called, rushing up to the man.

"Can I help you?" The man asked, turning around to fix Aaron with his icy blue stare.

"My friend needs help," Aaron simply explained, pointing to where Demetrius stood, holding a semi-conscious Aria who had begun shivering violently.

"Um…let me see what I can do," The man offered, following Aaron to where Demetrius stood in a well-lit part of the sidewalk. They knew that for their plan to work they had to appear trustworthy – or as trustworthy as they could, to the person they chose to help.

"Here," Demetrius said, handing Aria to the man when they approached, "She's starting to get heavy, I don't want to drop her."

The man narrowed his eyes at Aria, scrutinizing her appearance as if he knew who she was as he cradled her in his arms.

"What happened?" He addressed the two men beside him.

"She overdosed," They quickly explained – it wasn't like this man knew who they were.

"She needs to go to the hospital." It wasn't like Aaron and Demetrius didn't already know that.

Aria's eyes fluttered open as the men around her talked about her condition. Her eyes widened in shock when she noticed who was holding her. Her muddled mind could only half comprehend where she was and she was certain it was playing tricks on her. There was no way **he** was here.

At that moment, the man holding Aria in his arms happened to look down. Her hazel eyes left no room for doubt in his mind as to who the girl in his arms was. He couldn't understand how she had gotten to this point, but there was no mistaking the tiny, intelligent, unique girl he had fallen in love with so long ago.

"Aria?" He barely managed to whisper, having eyes only for her and not noticing the two men who had brought her back into his life, slipping away into the night air.

"E…Ezra?" She barely managed to gasp before her world went dark once more.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N – Thank you guys so much for your reviews. To be honest, I wasn't expecting this kind of feedback for my first foray into prose writing. All of you are amazing to me! I can almost guarantee that there will be an update for this every Friday night due to the amount of research I have to put into this. As another side note, while writing this chapter, I listened to "Somebody Help Me" by Full Blown Rose.**

 **Disclaimer – Once again, I think it goes without saying that Pretty Little Liars does not belong to me and this is merely for entertainment.**

 _Class A_

 _Chapter Two: Somebody Help Me_

 **Bronx-Lebanon; The Bronx, New York City, January 2013-**

"How is she today?" Ezra asked the nurse sitting behind the large, wooden desk.

"She's still asleep," The elderly woman, her hair already stark white, responded in a kind, worry filled voice.

"Can I see her?" He asked; hope emanating from his voice at the thought of seeing the one girl who had not left his mind for the past year.

"I think I can make an exception for you," The woman winked, her wide, brown eyes watching Ezra from behind her large rimmed glasses as she stood from her seat. She smoothed the wrinkles from her frost white uniform before coming around the desk. She gestured for Ezra to follow her down the long hall full of medical equipment.

"Did they move her?" Ezra questioned, shifting the blood red roses he held in his left hand to his right.

"Just down the hall. They gave her, her own room shortly after you went home," The nurse informed him, "She'll be more comfortable now."

Ezra nodded in response, nervously twisting the roses in his hand. His pulse quickened as he neared the room Aria had been moved to. The nurse patted Ezra reassuringly as he stood motionless in the doorway, staring in at the pale, small figure of the girl he had been praying to see every night for the past year.

A lone tear fell from Ezra's eye as he took in the pathetic sight in front of him. The once strong girl he had known lay in before him - weak and frail. Her skin was only a shade or two darker than the white sheets of the small hospital bed she laid in. Her dark brown hair had been washed the previous night and, after hours of brushing with no luck of getting the tangles out of the chocolate mass, the nurses had made the decision to cut Aria's long tresses – stating a hindrance to the doctors.

Ezra slowly moved into the room, taking cautious steps toward the hospital bed. He grasped the railing as he neared the head of the short bed, not that Aria required a very long bed. He tentatively lifted his hand and moved it toward Aria's cheek, gingerly laying the tips of his fingers against her soft, cool skin and stroking the all too familiar silky skin. A sad smile graced his face before he turned away.

He gently laid the roses he held in his hand on the wooden table by the bed before slinging his charcoal, knee-length coat from his body and tossing it over the back of a green upholstered chair. He moved the chair to the side of the bed, the wooden legs scrapping a little on the floor as he dragged it; positioning it near the head of the bed.

"Aria, why did you do this to yourself?" Ezra whispered, his voice breaking on the last syllable as he grasped Aria's tiny hand in his own, careful not to wake her.

He rubbed his eyes with his free hand as he continued staring at the girl before him. He couldn't believe she had come to this. He wanted so badly to believe that she had somehow accidentally overdosed – she wasn't the type to do drugs; not in his mind anyway. The doctors had quickly shot his beliefs, the beliefs he wanted to be true; he had **prayed** to be true, down when they had told him that Aria exhibited all the traits of a heroin addict.

He couldn't begin to fathom what had happened in her life that had brought her to this low. There for the first six months after she had left Rosewood for City University of New York, she had written or called him every day – excited about college life. She had sounded like she was thriving in her new setting. She was making good grades, especially in her English courses, and had made new friends. She'd even gotten a job as a campus tour guide. Never during those six months had she let on that something was bothering her or that her life had suddenly been placed on a downward spiral.

Aria's calls became less frequent after the first six months, but Ezra hadn't taken that as a sign that something was going horribly awry in her life. He had summed it all up to her suddenly having more schoolwork to do, work that he was certain she was having no problem with, but still took a good chunk of her time either way. He knew she had work to do as well. She couldn't be expected to spend every moment of her free time on the phone with her _**older**_ boyfriend who also had the misfortune of being her former high school English teacher. He didn't fault her for not calling –how could he? He had gotten to experience college life and so should she.

Eventually though, her phone calls, texts, and emails stopped completely. Every attempt Ezra made to come in contact with her once more, failed. He decided to pack up his things and move to New York in hopes of coming in contact with Aria, finding out what was wrong with her, and being closer to her. He handed in his resignation to Hollis and applied for jobs at various high schools in New York.

When he arrived, he found a nice apartment in Manhattan with the help of his mother – a widow who made a name for herself practicing law. He had quickly gotten a job teaching at a Catholic all boys school and became an integral part of the school. Although he had gotten settled in his new life with ease, he hadn't forgotten about Aria.

His search for Aria hadn't gone as well as his settling in had. He had gone to City University and asked around campus about Aria only to discover from one of her _former_ friends that she had dropped out nearly two months prior. Ezra had found that strange. He knew how hard-headed and set Aria was on getting an English degree – she wouldn't have given up or walked away from one of the things she wanted most in this world. He had continued looking for her, but after months of coming to nothing but dead ends, he had nearly given up.

That was the week before she had come waltzing back into his life once more or, more like, was carried back into his life. He hadn't expected to see her once more yesterday after such a long time of not knowing what had happened to her. He certainly hadn't expected to see her half comatose after a drug overdose and in the arms of a tall Jamaican. He could tell that there was a lot that had occurred in her life over the last year and there were definitely some blanks that she would have to fill in for him.

"E…Ezra?" He was shaken from his own little world at the raspy sound of Aria's voice. She sounded like she was in shock; disbelief that he was actually **here** beside her.

"Hey," Ezra greeted, his voice soft and unthreatening. He knew that he would have to take small steps with Aria; almost as if he were trying to coax a timid animal from its hiding place. He could tell that she had had a rough year and no doubt would not easily welcome him back into her life.

"What…" She began, stopping for a brief moment as coughs began to rack her tiny frame before continuing, "What are you doing here?"

"You don't remember any of last night?" Ezra asked gently, watching her for her reaction. She furrowed her once perfectly plucked but now slightly overgrown brows together. She pursued her lips and her eyes took on a distant glint as a look of concentration fell over her.

"I remember working," Aria began as Ezra started questioning in his head exactly what her 'job' consisted of, "Then I went to Aaron and Demetrius'."

"Aaron and Demetrius?" Ezra questioned, wondering if he had finally gotten names to put with the faces of the men who had dumped her in his arms last night. He prayed she was talking about two other people and not the ones who hadn't even bothered to make sure she was okay after leaving her.

"They're friends," Aria shrugged, obviously not in the mood to give any more information to Ezra. Any more information and he would know exactly who they were. She wasn't going to rat her friends out for dealing drugs – that wasn't something you did on the streets.

"Let me guess, Aaron is a few inches taller than you, has a nose ring, and more ear piercings than any man has the right to have? Oh and how could I forget the misguided attempt at dying his brown hair blonde?" A shocked look crossed Aria's face upon Ezra's fairly accurate description. Ezra took her silence as agreement before continuing his spiel, "In that case, Demetrius must be the unusually tall Jamaican with the dreadlocks."

"Why do you know who Aaron and Demetrius are?" Aria demanded to know in a nearly accusatory tone. She glared at Ezra; crossing her arms over her chest and instantly going into a defensive mode.

"Because they're the jackasses who decided to leave you with a complete stranger last night knowing that you needed medical attention. They don't sound like friends, Aria," He tried to keep his voice neutral, but he wound up sounding slightly condescending at the end.

"They did what they had to do," She responded, shrugging in a way that told Ezra he should give up any hopes he had of making her think otherwise.

"They left you with a complete stranger, Aria. A stranger!" With that said, Ezra stood from his chair, pushing it back and running a hand through his hair in frustration and slight anger. He couldn't believe how stubborn Aria was being at this moment. Her life had been on the line and rather than insuring that their supposed friend was okay, those two had dumped her on the nearest person they could find. That didn't sound like something a friend would do in Ezra's book.

"You don't understand, Ezra," Aria shouted back, her voice breaking from lack of use as she continued glaring at the man in front of her. There was so much of her life he didn't know – that she was ashamed to tell him.

"Then _**make**_ me understand," He gave the simple solution in a soft, yet frustrated voice as he came to stand by the bed, looking down at Aria with an almost patronizing expression.

"No matter how much I explain to you Ezra, you will never understand. So much has happened in my life since the last time you saw me. I'm not the same person I was and I don't think I can ever be that person again. Just trust me when I say that Aaron and Demetrius are amazing friends – they're the only friends I have. They did what they had to do to protect themselves from **my** stupidity. I would have done the same in their situation," She stated, her eyes pleading with Ezra to drop the topic.

"Aria, what happened to you?" Ezra begged – he had to know why the woman he was still convinced he would share the rest of his life with was in this much pain.

"It's not a short story, Ezra. Nor is it something I would care to share," She sighed, sounding slightly defeated as she shrank down on her pillows.

"Tell me. You used to tell me everything," Ezra reminded her, gripping her hand in his and stroking the back of her hand with his thumb.

"That was the old me," Aria stated with finality before pulling her hand from Ezra's and rolling over on her side, closing her eyes.

Ezra huffed before glancing at the watch on his wrist; he would be running late for his first class of the day. He quickly flung his coat on before heading toward the entrance to the room, turning at the doorway to stare back longingly at Aria before walking out of the room. He stopped at the desk where the friendly nurse who had escorted him earlier was typing away at a computer.

"Thank you," Ezra tossed at the woman.

"You're welcome, dear. I wouldn't want to keep a young couple apart," She grinned; it was evident that Ezra held a high place in her opinion.

"We're…" Ezra began before realizing that the old lady's mistake would make it easier for him to have access to Aria during her hospitalization, "Very grateful for what you've done."

"You two are so adorable. How long have you been together?" She questioned, her eyes taking on a look of earnestness.

"4 years," Ezra quickly stated, which **would** be true if they hadn't broken up or whatever it was Aria had done to them.

"Are you planning on sealing the deal anytime soon?" She asked with a twinkle in her eye, leaning forward as if the two were sharing a secret.

"Maybe," Ezra drawled, hoping that statement was true, "I have to get to work. You have my number in case anything happens, right?"

"Of course. I put it in her medical records last night when you gave it to me. Have fun at work," She winked, waving at him.

Ezra gave her a half wave before practically running down the hall to the elevator. He pressed the button several times as if it would make the elevator arrive on his floor any sooner. He practically shouted his frustration when the elevator finally decided to open its doors, allowing him to step inside. He pressed the button for the first floor and waited rather impatiently before he reached his desired level.

On the first floor, he practically ran out the door into the cold morning air. He was amazed when he managed to find an unoccupied taxi quickly at this time of the morning. Sliding into the yellow car, he gave an address before requesting that the cabby drive as quickly as possible. The usually long drive was accomplished by the cabby in a little under fifteen minutes – prompting a lot of near heart attacks for Ezra. Yet when he arrived at his destination, he felt compelled to give the driver a nice tip.

Out of breath, Ezra arrived in his classroom, having just ran to the room at the end of hall from the sidewalk. Ezra smiled at the sight of his students already sitting at their desks, their books out in front of them and opened to the current chapter they were reading. It had taken Ezra a while to adjust to the boys in this school always coming to class prepared and ready to learn, but this was a private school designed for the brightest students in the city.

"Good morning," Ezra greeted, smiling at the class as he placed his briefcase on his desk and slung his coat over his desk chair.

"Good morning," The boys all intoned, watching as Ezra pulled his own book from his briefcase and settled himself on the edge of his desk, looking out at his class.

"Are you guys ready to discuss clichés?" Ezra asked his class. Freshman English wasn't his favorite course to teach because he had to go over all of what he termed 'elementary terms'.

"We are, but _you_ don't look like you are," A tall, lanky boy with sandy hair said.

"Thomas, my personal life remains just that, _**personal**_ ," Ezra stated, a little more harshly than he intended.

"Of course, Mr. Fitz," Thomas mumbled, unused to seeing his favorite teacher in a foul mood.

"Let's get started then," Ezra said, attempting to lighten the mood by adding more enthusiasm to his voice.

A few hours later, Ezra sat in the staff dining room with Hardy – the resident science teacher. The two were busy eating their lunch in silence, an unusual occurrence for the two best friends. Hardy sat staring at Ezra, trying to read his mood.

"What's your problem today, Z?" He asked, stretching some before reaching forward to grasp his can of soda.

"I ran into Aria last night," Ezra mumbled, taking a bite of his sandwich.

"You're kidding," Hardy shook his head, trying to wrap his head around Ezra's revelation.

"Nope," Ezra said, chewing his food before swallowing.

"Please tell me you told that bitch where to go," Hardy begged, his attitude toward Aria having soured since she had disappeared from his best friend's life and broken his heart in the process.

"It's a little more complicated than that," Ezra informed the man seated across from him.

"Complicated how?" Hardy wondered, not able to see how that had anything to do with Ezra **not** telling Aria where to shove it.

"I can't talk about it right now," Ezra shrugged before standing from the table, throwing his trash away, and walking out of the room.


End file.
